The European Central Bank’s surprise interest-rate cut aims to stimulate an economy hobbled by flat or falling prices. It comes against a backdrop of European businesses struggling with a production glut in anything from washing machines and cars to gasoline. An aging oil refinery near the small Sicilian town of Gela offers a window into that struggle. A sharp drop in energy demand in Italy—where consumption of refined petroleum products has slid 30% since 2006, double the European average—has sent capacity usage at the refinery plummeting to 29% from 89% just four years ago. Eni SpA, the Italian energy giant that owns the plant, has racked up €1 billion ($1.31 billion) in operating losses at the facility in five years. As a result, it seemed to make perfect sense when the company began considering the closure of the huge refinery this summer. Yet pressure from unions and politicians quickly […]